- Home relationships don’t fare well at university.
I’m not going to make the blanket statement of ‘don’t come to university with a home girlfriend/boyfriend’. I’m just advising from experience and from seeing other relationships that it’s likely not to work out. The only home relationships I know that have lasted at university are the ones where the couple have gone to the same uni. This isn’t to say if you come to university in a relationship it categorically won’t work out, it’s just that proximity plays a huge role in a relationship. It didn’t work out for me, but it may have done or will do for you!
- Sharing a bathroom at uni is not a big deal.
I can remember the panicked conversation I had with my mum when my accommodation was confirmed as Harry French, ‘I have to share a bathroom mum!’, ‘Alannah you do that now with three other people’. Case in point, you share a bathroom at home and you will at university. Out of my two years at university I’ve only had to wait to use the bathroom a handful of times and even then, the state of the bathroom is never a concern, I wish I could say the same for the kitchen…
- Get involved with the Student’s Union ASAP! There’s something for everyone.
Loughborough has its very identifiable cliques. It took me a while to find myself very happily within the Action keeno family, but I honestly wish I’d have got involved earlier and had the confidence to run for hall rep in my first year. Loughborough quite literally has something for everyone and as great as getting your degree is you won’t be looking back in 40 years remembering the great times you had in Pilks.
- The North/South divide is a real thing.
Coming from the West Midlands; I had no idea my identity would be stripped, and I would have to pick a side. Given I’ve never stepped inside a Waitrose… I chose the North. I can’t help but find the whole argument ironic given we all attend a university quite literally situated in the Midlands but then again, I’m from Birmingham, I haven’t much to argue when it comes to where are you from.
- Manage your finances
I can’t quite stress the importance of this enough, sticking to a budget is essential to student living. That and saving where you can. As tiresome as saving might be it ensures you’ve a safety blanket if needed. For example, my course sprung a surprise fieldtrip on me that needed to be paid for quickly if you wanted a place. As much as budgeting on a night out was annoying at times it ensured I could go on the trip. This included not taking my card out on a night out, as convenient as contactless is it will drain your bank account like a sieve.
Alannah Joy
